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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐙𝐎𝐍 as Stella woke up to the sound of Montana stirring in the nursery on the baby monitor. Getting out of bed, she wrapped her robe around her body and kissed her husband's chin.

"Mom, it's pretty early, would you like me to get her?" Robby sleepily asked as he walked out of his bedroom

"No, sweetheart. That's all right." Stella smiled as she kissed her stepson's forehead. "Go on back to bed. I've got her."

Robby smiled, yawned and nodded and kissed his stepmother's cheek and closed the door behind him, and Stella walked down the hall.

Stella walked down the hall to the nursery to find baby Montana stirring in her cradle. Smiling at her daughter, the brunette picked her daughter up.

"Good morning my honey." Stella smiled as she kissed her daughter's temple 

After changing Montana's diaper and giving her a prepared bottle of breast milk from the fridge, the brunette sat in the rocking chair, and the two began to watch the sun rise.

As Stella sang Marie Osmond's Meet Me in Montana, the mother and daughter watched the Texas sun rise over the ranch. After placing a kiss on her daughter's head, and Montana clutching her mother's finger, Stella laid her daughter against her chest.

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As Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses played on TV, Stella sat in the living room, reading her book, while Montana slept in her baby bassinet, and Robby was in his room, talking to Hailey on FaceTime who was in Denver for a rodeo. Even though Montana was a few weeks old, she made a promise to herself she would introduce her daughter to Barbie and the Barbie movies as early as a few weeks old.

As Stella turned the page in her book, a soft knock was heard at the door. Setting her book on the end table, she got up and walked to the front door and opened it to reveal her father, holding a gift box.

"Hey daddy." Stella smiled as she embraced her father. "Come on in."

"Hey honey. I hope I didn't come at a bad time." Nathan said as he embraced his daughter, then set the box on the coffee table. "Where's Robby?"

"He's in his room talking with Hailey." Stella smiled. "She's at a rodeo in Denver." 

"Well, you remember that present I told you I was working on for Montana?" Nathan asked as he sat on the couch, and Stella grabbed Montana out of the bassinet as she had began to stir

"Yes." Stella said

"Well, I finally finished it." Nathan said. Stella handed Montana to Nathan, who held her close to him

Stella opened the gift to reveal a music box which was a replica of the guest house, now the Lawrence home. As Stella opened the box, it played Marie Osmond's, Meet Me in Montana

"Daddy, it's beautiful." Stella smiled

"Look closer." Nathan said

Stella looked inside the music box and saw three small figurines: Stella, Johnny, and Robby. Stella held an infant Montana, Johnny stood behind Stella and beamed at their daughter and Robby stood beside the two and beamed at the baby.

"Daddy." Stella said with a watery smile

"I just thought it was important." Nathan smiled. "She needs to always remember where she came from." he said as he laid his granddaughter back in the bassinet

"Thank you dad." Stella smiled as she embraced her father. "I love it, and I know she'll love it as well."

"You're welcome honey." Nathan smiled as she held his daughter tight.

"Hey grandpa." Robby smiled as he walked out of his bedroom. "I'm sorry, I was—"

"It's alright son. Your mom told me you were talking to Hailey. How's she doing? How are you doing?" Nathan asked as he embraced his step grandson.

"She's doing great." Robby smiled. "She got the first go round."

"That's great." Nathan smiled

"What's that?" Robby asked, as he noticed the music box on the coffee table

"Your grandfather made that for your sister." Stella smiled

"Well, I figured you could decide when you wanted to give it to her." Nathan said

"She'll love it, grandpa." Robby said. "I love that the figurines look exactly like us."

"Well, it's important that everyone knows who their family is, and how much they're loved." Nathan smiled. "I want you to know, how much I love all of you."

"We love you too, daddy." Stella smiled

"We love you too, gramps."

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Stella walked into the nursery in her white nightgown, carrying Montana in her arms, while Johnny got ready for bed, and Robby was out with August.

Looking at the music box, Stella spoke. "Your grandfather made that for you. Life is complicated, my baby Blue, but even though it's complicated, I know you will always choose the right path." she said

Heaving a sigh, Stella continued, and Montana looked up at her mother with her beautiful violet eyes. "I just want you and your brother to be safe to be loved, and to have a wonderful, peaceful life. I can promise you, I am going to give the both of you just that. I'll fight tooth and nail to make sure the two of you are safe. I'll always keep the two of you safe."

Stella sat in the rocking chair and turned on her mother's old radio, which began to play soft music. "I want you to always remember where you come from honey. Always remember that no matter what, I love you. You know, my mom she used to sing Hey Jude to your uncle August and I, when we were growing up."

Johnny stepped into the nursery and stood by the door, smiling as Stella continued. "And then when your grandma Ava died, the first month after that, your grandpa Nathan, he would sit in his old den and listen to that song over and over again. It was almost like he was trying to punish himself for something."

Montana's little violet blue eyes began to flutter shut as she held her mother's finger tight.

"That song, it made us happy, it made us sad, it made us happy again. The whole human experience just wrapped up in that one song. I like to think it's just like a hospital. These bizarre buildings where people experience some of their greatest joys and some of their most awful tragedies all under one roof. I think the trick is, not trying to keep the joys and tragedies apart. I think that if you can do that, if you can manage to forge ahead with all that joy and heartache mixed up together inside of you, never knowing which one's going get the upper hand and believe me life has a way of shaking out to be more beautiful than tragic." Stella smiled

Stella placed her sleeping daughter in the cradle turned on her mobile and turned on the music box, then smiled at the photo of her mother.

You see, it's the tragedies that define our lives. They are the fence posts on which the rest of our lives hang. All the loss, all the sadness, all the tragedy, that pain is not forever. True love is forever.